AN OLD GENERAL II

 It was not till after dinner that night that General Carden opened the book. He was then sitting in a large and comfortable armchair in his study. A shaded electric lamp stood on a table at his elbow, and he was experiencing the sense of well-being¹ of a man who has just partaken of a most excellently cooked dinner.

 

He fixed² his gold-rimmed glasses on his finely chiselled³ nose and opened the book, though with but faint anticipation⁴ of interest. After a page or two, however, he became absorbed, almost fascinated. The writing appealed to him; it was pleasant, cultured. There were here and there some very neatly⁵ turned phrases. And then, quite suddenly, one paragraph arrested his attention. It was in itself a quite insignificant⁶ little paragraph and merely descriptive. Here it is, however:

 

“Near one corner of the house, grey-walled, weather-beaten, stood a great pear-tree, its branches almost touching⁷ the diamond-shaped panes⁸ of the narrow window—the window of the octagon room which held for him so many memories. In spring-time the tree was a mass of [Pg 66]snowy blossoms, and among their delicate fragrance⁹ a blackbird sang his daily matins. Later in the year the tree would be full of fruit, many of which fell to the ground, and, bruising¹⁰ in the fall, would fill the air with a sweet and almost sickly scent¹¹. In the trunk of the tree was a small shield-shaped patch, where the bark had been torn away, and the initials R. and J. cut in the smooth underwood. They belonged, so the boy had been told, to the twin brothers, whose gallant¹² history had fascinated him from childhood.”

 

General Carden paused. There was a look of dim pain in his blue eyes. After a moment he re-read the passage carefully, and with infinitely¹³ more attention than the few sentences would appear to merit. Then he turned to the title-page and read the name of the author. Apparently¹⁴ it told him nothing he desired to know, and he continued his reading. Much farther on he came to another paragraph at which he again paused abruptly¹⁵.

 

“‘Cricket,’ said the young man airily, ‘is a universal game, and means, speaking in general terms, the avoidance of anything which—well, hints of meanness or unfair play to our neighbours.’ They were his father’s exact words, and he knew it. At the moment, however, he chose to make them his own.”

 

General Carden put down the book. His hands were shaking slightly. He told himself he was an old fool. Hundreds of fathers had used those words to their sons. They represented the first principle learnt by an Englishman. But then, there was the pear-tree, the shield-shaped wound in its bark, the initials, the old weather-beaten house. Memory began to exert her sway. He was sitting in a study window watching a tall, slim woman as she laughed at a thin slip of a boy climbing, monkey-like, among the branches of the old tree. He could hear the very sound of her laugh and the exultant¹⁶ ring of the boy’s voice.

 

He pulled himself together. That house—the old place down in the country—was in the hands of caretakers. It did not do to think about the past at his time of life. He was certainly perturbed¹⁷ to use that phrase. He turned to the address of the publishers, then glanced at the telephone on his writing-desk and from it to the clock. The hands pointed¹⁸ to ten minutes to ten. Of course, it was too late to ring up a business [Pg 68]house, much too late. Besides, pseudonyms¹⁹ were sacred to publishers, or should be. Quite possibly, too, it was not a pseudonym²⁰. It was absurd that he should suppose that it was. It was a good book, however, a very good book. He should like to see what the reviews had to say about it. It was always interesting to hear public opinion on a good book; and, to a certain extent, reviewers constituted the public. There were places—he had heard of them—where reviews were collected. He must find out the name of one of them. Yes; he would like to see whether the reviewers did not endorse²¹ his own opinion. He would tell Mrs. Cresswell he had appreciated her recommendation. Possibly he would write a note to-morrow and tell her. It would please her to hear that he had liked the book she had advised him to read.

 

And then another thought struck him, and he sat suddenly upright. Had not she once seen that pear-tree—once, long ago? Surely she, too, did not think—did not guess——

 

He would not write to her after all. Tuesday would be time enough to tell her that he thought the book—yes, quite fairly promising²² for a new author. Fairly promising, that was the expression.

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 chiselled   

adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A name was chiselled into the stone. 石头上刻着一个人名。
• He chiselled a hole in the door to fit a new lock. 他在门上凿了一个孔，以便装一把新锁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

5 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

6 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 panes   

窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sun caught the panes and flashed back at him. 阳光照到窗玻璃上，又反射到他身上。
• The window-panes are dim with steam. 玻璃窗上蒙上了一层蒸汽。

9 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

10 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

11 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

12 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

13 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

16 exultant   

adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的

参考例句：

• The exultant crowds were dancing in the streets.欢欣的人群在大街上跳起了舞。
• He was exultant that she was still so much in his power.他仍然能轻而易举地摆布她，对此他欣喜若狂。

17 perturbed   

adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 pseudonyms   

n.假名，化名，（尤指）笔名( pseudonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• But on newspaper websites, pseudonyms are allowed and are widely used. 但在报纸的网站上，读者可用假名评论且普遍会这么做。 来自互联网
• All materials should bear the writer's name, address and phone number andbe published under pseudonyms. 文章可用笔名发表，惟投稿者须附真实姓名、地址及联络电话。 来自互联网

20 pseudonym   

n.假名，笔名

参考例句：

• Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
• Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。

21 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

22 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。